Had a very nice dinner last night with some turmeric-roasted
cauliflower, jasmine rice cooked with mixed vegetables and some
moderately spiced minced goat kebabs. Good wine would have made things
better, so I grabbed a bottle of 1995 Clos du Mont Olivet Chateauneuf
du Pape and let the corkscrew rip.

Beautiful clear ruby colour turning orange-brown at the rim.
Interesting nose at first. Red fruits, earth, something else... ah
yes, TCA. Wet newspapers and cardboard. Just enough of it to
completely ruin what otherwise might have been a lovely wine.
Everything else about it seemed nice - good fruit still showing
underneath the stink, and a lovely silky texture in the mouth. The
only bottle, too. Infuriating.

After deciding not to let the romantic closure ruin the evening, I
went in the opposite direction. Pulled out a 2006 Monchoff Urziger
Wurzgarten Riesling Kabinett (as the first inexpensive bottle with a
screwcap that I thought might go well with the food) and twisted it
open. No TCA - my record of no corked wines under screwcap remains
intact!

Very nice on the nose with the spicy character I often get from this
vineyard, plus a load of peach, apple and slate. As I'd expect given
the vintage, this is very ripe, sweet and rich on the palate with lots
of sweet peach, nectarine and apple fruit and some mineral notes
underneath. Bright acidity gives this plenty of energy and balance,
and it finishes clean with medium length. Very tasty and a good match
with the food, matching the light spice of the goat kebabs and
vegetables very well.

"Salil" > skrev i melding
...
> Very nice on the nose with the spicy character I often get from this
> vineyard, plus a load of peach, apple and slate. As I'd expect given
> the vintage, this is very ripe, sweet and rich on the palate with lots
> of sweet peach, nectarine and apple fruit and some mineral notes
> underneath. Bright acidity gives this plenty of energy and balance,
> and it finishes clean with medium length. Very tasty and a good match
> with the food, matching the light spice of the goat kebabs and
> vegetables very well.
I usually avoid Mönchhof whose owner actually run down Joh. Jos. Christoffel
after acquiring it. There's no denying, however, that both estates have
improved lately, and this very wine surprised me in Bernkastel 3 weeks ago.
Real good stuff at 8.90EUR. Wein-plus awarded it 84pts which is very
respectable from them, with a description fitting yours very nicely.
Anders

Salil wrote:
> Had a very nice dinner last night with some turmeric-roasted
> cauliflower, jasmine rice cooked with mixed vegetables and some
> moderately spiced minced goat kebabs. Good wine would have made things
> better, so I grabbed a bottle of 1995 Clos du Mont Olivet Chateauneuf
> du Pape and let the corkscrew rip.
>
> Beautiful clear ruby colour turning orange-brown at the rim.
> Interesting nose at first. Red fruits, earth, something else... ah
> yes, TCA. Wet newspapers and cardboard. Just enough of it to
> completely ruin what otherwise might have been a lovely wine.
> Everything else about it seemed nice - good fruit still showing
> underneath the stink, and a lovely silky texture in the mouth. The
> only bottle, too. Infuriating.

My heart goes out to you, Salil. What is it with Rhone wines and
defective corks? As I said earlier, bring on the screwcaps!

> Very nice on the nose with the spicy character I often get from this
> vineyard, plus a load of peach, apple and slate. As I'd expect given
> the vintage, this is very ripe, sweet and rich on the palate with lots
> of sweet peach, nectarine and apple fruit and some mineral notes
> underneath. Bright acidity gives this plenty of energy and balance,
> and it finishes clean with medium length. Very tasty and a good match
> with the food, matching the light spice of the goat kebabs and
> vegetables very well.

Nice notes. I don't have any experience with this producer, but this
will certainly motivate me to look for some.

Mark Lipton


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